“Dixon’s campaign has been one of the worst and most incompetently run statewide campaigns that we’ve seen in at least a dozen years.” – political strategist Adrian Hemond
With just over 50 days to go until the general election, DeVos sellout Tudor Dixon’s campaign is crushing under the weight of the wrong-for-Michigan agenda she is attempting to force on Michiganders, according to recent reporting from The American Independent.
Dixon’s backwards vision for Michigan is anchored by her dangerous and out-of-step crusade to resurrect an abortion ban from 1931 that criminalizes abortion, makes felons out of reproductive health care providers and provides no exceptions for rape or incest. Her “extreme no-exceptions position on abortion” is causing headaches in-state on the campaign finance front, made worse by the fact that Dixon is still largely “nowhere to be found.”
Meanwhile, Governor Whitmer is earning “rare” support from Republicans, many of whom are fed-up with the infighting that has plagued the MIGOP all cycle.
See excerpts below from The American Independent on the campaign “malpractice” being committed by Tudor Dixon and read the full report here.
The American Independent: Republican Dixon’s Campaign for Michigan Governor is ‘Incompetently Run’ and Struggling
By Adrian Cole
Incumbent Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is drawing support from Republicans in the state as Tudor Dixon’s campaign lags far behind in fundraising. […]
Election observers say the campaign of Dixon, who defeated a historically large crowd of primary challengers and was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, is struggling. […]
David Dulio, director of Oakland University’s Center for Civic Engagement in Rochester, Michigan, told the American Independent Foundation that the Whitmer campaign has “clearly benefited from early spending from the DGA [Democratic Governors Association], which has really had an impact. They have been able to define Tudor Dixon as extreme on abortion before she was able to define herself.” […]
Dixon had been accused by other GOP candidates during the primaries of being an “establishment” Republican, owing to her endorsement by the DeVos family. […] Aside from the DeVos family, which has donated $4 million so far to groups backing Dixon, other major donors, such as the Republican Governors Association, have held back.
Even Right to Life Michigan, an anti-abortion group that endorsed Dixon, has contributed only $100 to her campaign. […]
Adrian Hemond, founder and CEO of the Michigan campaign consulting group Grassroots Midwest, told TAIF that Dixon’s campaign “has no money; the candidate who lost the attorney general nomination at the Republican spring convention has more cash on hand than Dixon. That’s shocking.”
Hemond points the finger at management: “Dixon’s campaign has been one of the worst and most incompetently run statewide campaigns that we’ve seen in at least a dozen years, and the Republicans have every environmental factor on their side: The economy is terrible, the president is unpopular, and it’s the president’s first midterm election.”
“Furthermore,” he added, “Dixon is nowhere to be found, which is malpractice as far as her campaign is concerned. She could easily go to Traverse City or Marquette or Alpena. They would put her on television, and have her talk about whatever she wants to talk about.”
…Abortion has become the defining issue for voters, especially for female voters, over economic, security, and law and order issues. The Michigan Board of State Canvassers on Sept. 9 authorized the placement on the November ballot of an initiative called Reproductive Freedom for All, giving Michiganders an opportunity to vote on whether to amend the state Constitution to protect the right to abortion.
Dulio said he is waiting to see how anti-abortion organizations respond in terms of spending on advertising to counter the ballot measure. “There’s still a battle to be fought,” he said.
Hemond underlined the centrality of abortion as an issue: “Abortion is absolutely the issue that is dominating this election. The Republican nominee has a position on it that is not mainstream, and she is being punished for it, to the extent that anyone knows who she is.”
Dixon’s extreme no-exceptions position on abortion, which may have assisted in the primaries, may be limiting her campaign, said Hemond. In other races around the country, candidates have been scrubbing their websites of similarly extreme positions, suggesting that they think such positions will not appeal to voters in the November’s election.
During a press conference on Monday, Whitmer introduced “Republicans for Whitmer,” a coalition of former Republican officials who are endorsing her over Dixon. Hemond said that such endorsements are another hurdle for Dixon: “More concerning to Republicans is that there are some major donors on that list that can get the governor access to additional funding, and they have signaled that they are not giving money to Tudor Dixon, which she really needs.”
“Cross-party endorsements are rare,” Dulio said, “but Whitmer is already in a very strong position. She’s not cutting any corners, and maybe at this point she’s even trying to run up the score. These endorsements will get the attention of some independents, and maybe even some Republicans.” […]
